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BlizzCon 2020 Has Officially Been Canceled This Year

Published Tue, 26 May 2020 15:40:49 -0500

This afternoon, Blizzard Entertainment finally made the call to cancel BlizzCon 2020 due to the concerns of COVID-19 this year. The word came down on social media and through the company's website, where Blizzard's executive producer of BlizzCon, Saralyn Smith, addressed the situation. Here's her statement for you to read as it's clear they will not be participating at the Anaheim Convention Center this year. It sounds like plans are in the works to figure out something for online viewing and participation, but nothing is set in stone yet. We'll keep an eye on it to see how it develops moving forward.

A look outside the Anaheim Convention Center during BlizzCon 2019. Credit: Gavin Sheehan

Several weeks ago, I shared an update about our uncertainty around holding BlizzCon this year. Since then, a lot has changed . . . and a lot also hasn't changed. During this time, we've had many discussions about what holding a convention could look like in light of all the health and safety considerations we'd want to make. We've also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering our options, we've come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.

We're feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that's a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and "recharging our geek batteries" this fall.

But we will meet again!

We're talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online, far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings. We'd want to do this as soon as we could, but given that this is new-ish territory and the different factors involved, it will most likely be sometime early next year. BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year, so we're also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show.

We'll tell you more about our plans as they develop—but in the meantime, we hope to see you exploring the Shadowlands, hanging out in the Tavern, pushing the payload (do it!), and wherever else in the Blizzard universes you may roam.

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